Improvement in envelopes



JOHN E.` WHEELER, 0E,` NEVILLE, onto.

Letters Patent No. 80,257, dated July 21, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN ENVELOPES.

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T0 ALL WHOM IT'MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. WHEELER, of Neville, in the county of Clermont, and State of Ohio, have n invented a new and useful Improvement zin Fasteners for Envelopes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a fu'll, clear, and exact description thereof, reference heinghad to the accompanying drawings.

The nature of my invention consists in so constructing and applying my fastener for envelopes as -to lfectj ually prevent the opening thereof after it is fastened by my device, without cutting, tearing, or`otherwise mutilating the same.

To enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use'my invention, Idescribe it as follows, viz i I take a. sheet of any desired kind of metal, and of any suitable thickness, preferring, ofcourse, a very thin sheet, say about the onefo1jtieth or one-fiftieth (316) of an inch, and from the same I cut the piece A., Figures 1, 2, 3, about one-half inch square, as shown enlarged in iig. 1. I then cut slits in it,`as shown .in dotted lines at a a a a, fig. 1. Along the red'dotted lines I turn theplate up and over on itself, until the edges -meet at b, figs. 2 and 3, thus forming an opening or mortise through it, a section of which is s'een at c, figs. 3

and 7. At aboutone-eighth of an inch from the end of this mortise, next to the flange d, and 5on one of its inner edges, I for-m a'notch or catch, e, Figure 4.

I then cut from the same sheet as above mentioned a piece about one-eighth of an inch wide'at and near its centre, and about three-fourths of an inchA long, the ends tapering to a point, as seen atf, Figure 5. To the centre or middle of this piece I attach a small V-shaped spring, g, fig. 5. This spring is of such a thickness as to pass freely into the mortise c of figs. S'and 7, and when this spring is inserted and forced home in the said mortise, the end ofthe spring g passes the notch or catch e on the inner edge of the same, and takes hold thereof, and thus its retraction is prevented.-

The manner of attaching my device to envelopes is` as follows, v'lz I attach the piece B, to which the spring g is fastened, to the lappel h, iig. 6, of the envelope, which is the part on which the mucilage is usually placed; and this I do by passing the spring g through the saidlappel, and then turning'thc same down inwards and over the flange or plate to which the spring 1s'attached, as seen at z', Figure 6, and securing the same afterl turning down by the use ofmucilage.

I then attach the part figs. 2 and 6, to the body of the envelope, in such position as that, when the same is. to be closed, and the spring g of the piece B, which is attached to the lappel as shown, is forced home in the mortise ofA, the envelope will be neatly closed. This piece A is fastened to the envelope by turningup the two corners It it, figs. 2 and 7, of the plate, at right angles thereto, and then passing said corners through the paper ormaterial-of which the envelope is made, and then turning down the said corners on the same, as seen at c r, fig. 7. v v

It will be seen from the foregoing that when my device is :narleand attached to the envelope, and used as described, the envelope cannot be opened without mutilation.

Having fully described the construction and use of my invention, I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The piece or device A with its mortisc c and notch or catch c in same, in combination with the piece B I and its spring g, substantially as shown anddescribed.

2. The manner of fastening the pieces A and B to tlicenvelope, an'dsecuring the same from being opened without mutilation, substantially ns'shown and described.

JOHN B. WHEELER.

Witnesses:

T. C. TnEAKEn, O. E. DUFFY. 

